Message of aloha: Go back to Idaho
This article (Sept. 19) shows how horribly out of touch you are with the Hawaiian culture and the island of Kauai. I am not even going to tell you why I say that but if I were you, I would be so embarrassed that I would go back to Idaho or wherever you come from.
Tom Thompson, Kauai
Allegations show pattern of behavior
You are correct that allegations are not in and of themselves proof of guilt. They are concerning when they fit a pattern of behavior. Brett Kavanaugh appears to fit a pattern of binge drinking and socially irresponsible behavior that is not commensurate with an appointment to SCOTUS.
Nominees to the highest court should be of impeccable moral standards, as they most carefully consider the weight and impact of changes of the legal decisions which impact the very fabric of our society. Jurists like John Roberts enjoyed a wide berth of margin in their nominations because of such integrity. Is there some particular reason you’ve chosen to use your print publication to defend the misdeeds of a frat boy?
Harlan Kanoa N. Sheppard, Ewa Beach
The importance of speaking up in a time of crisis
As we all know, the Earth is facing a climate crisis. People across the entire planet are both listening to what the science says and experiencing first hand the impacts of the climate crisis.
To be united across the planet on a singular issue is a powerful message to the global leadership meeting this week at the U.N. Climate Summit. In 2015, 195 countries and governments signed the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement.
But this historical agreement is nothing other than just that unless we are all willing to make the transformational change needed to reach the overriding goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (with best efforts to limit warming within 1.5 degrees).
So why are we on Kauai joining in the Climate Strike? Because our voice matters, too, and so do our actions. Our Climate Strike is not only about demanding that global leaders fulfill their commitments, but that our county government and community members all play their role as well in addressing the climate crisis.
Anne Walton, Kapaa
So gordo should be scanning the internet to copy and paste his response. Says alot about you gordo. No real cognition going on. But then again you are an ardent supporter of a moron.
So, Anne…let me see if I’ve got your point. The earth is approximately 4.5 BILLION years old; since it’s birth the climate has changed–often radically, you, know, like ice ages then subsequent inter-glacial warming, volcanic activity & widely varying CO2 levels that DO NOT correlate with temperature. Much of this happened 10s of millions of years before the advent of humans. So…just how is that possible?
Well, if you had a lick of scientific knowledge or common sense you would understand that the processes of climate are beyond human control and have been for several billion years…and will continue to be such. You would understand the difference between the time scale of human life and that of geologic processes. I know, it’s difficult to climb out of your human constrained mind and think in terms of millions of years.
To believe that you can “make a difference” in the context of geologic/universe reality is about as egotistical and self-centered as it gets…to say nothing if not grossly ignorant. Relax, get a life…the climate is NOT in crisis. It’s just the same old climate that has ALWAYS been changing and you’re not going to do anything about it. However, you should pray that CO2 NEVER plunges to less than 150 ppm; if it does, all plant life and therefore all other life on earth would end. CO2 is a good thing….not a pollutant. It’s not even an important greenhouse gas…water vapor is vastly more important for that.
BTW: Tom Thompson….why don’t you join that person and go back to where you came from. I was born and raised on Kauai and never heard of a Thompson here as I grew up. Tired of hearing transplants urging newer transplants to leave.
RG DeSoto
Agree with you more than 98%. In fact, historically the concentration of CO2 is TOO LOW. There is an entire continent of habitable land at the south pole of our planet that is buried under MILES of ice. Is the real fear here that tourists with their dollars would flock to Antarctica rather than Hawaii for vacation? I say that with a little jest, but, in reality the alarmists completely ignore that some geographies will benefit GREATLY from higher CO2 concentrations…a naturally occurring process BTW. Don’t like rising sea levels? Don’t build next to the seas! Every “bad” effect that the alarmists regurgitate can be mitigated by human ingenuity.
Here Anne:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zrejG-WI3U
RG DeSoto
RG, if you had a lick of scientific knowledge you would know it isn’t too little CO2 content that scientists are worried about, it’s too much. Since 1900 — or just after the Industrial Revolution — it’s risen from 296 ppm to 411 ppm. That’s a nearly 40% increase in only 120 years, due in large part to the amount of CO2 that man is spewing into the atmosphere. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Atmospheric CO2 levels have not been this high since at least the past 15 million years. That’s about 2 million years BEFORE your great ape ancestors took up residence in Africa. Run that through your cognitive center —if it can penetrate that thick skull — and then tell me we have nothing to worry about.
Steven:
Sorry, you are simply wrong…you too kauaiboy
“Nearly 99% of the atmosphere consists of nitrogen and oxygen. The remaining 1% consists of several trace gases (Fig. I-4), including CO2, whose current concentration represents just 0.04% of the atmosphere, or 400 molecules out of every million. Current levels are an incredibly small percentage of the atmosphere, albeit an important one, as advanced plant life could not survive without at least 150 ppm. As we shall see, that 150 ppm “line of death” is dangerously close to recent concentrations.”
“During each of the last four ice ages, CO2 concentration fell below 190 ppm. At the end of the last ice age, it fell to 182 ppm, thought to be the lowest in the Earth’s history. Why is this alarming? Because below 150 ppm, most terrestrial plant life cannot exist. We came within about 30 ppm (30 molecules out of every one million) to the extinction of most plant life on land, and with it the extinction of all higher terrestrial life-forms that depend on it. Both the relatively short-term data from ice cores and much longer-term data going back 140 million years (Berner 2001) show an alarming downward trend toward CO2 starvation. The combustion of fossil fuels has allowed humanity to increase concentrations of this beneficial molecule, and perhaps avert an actual CO2-related climate apocalypse. ” Wrightstone.
CO2 is a beneficial gas and not a major greenhouse contributor…if you are acquainted with geological data you will note that the huge explosion of life that occurred during the Cambrian period was when CO2 levels were close to 8000ppm. “Our current geologic period (Quaternary) has the lowest average CO2 levels in the history of the Earth.” Wrightstone
The real danger could be a reduction of CO2 down to the 150ppm threshold when the next glaciation occurs…and it will.
RG DeSoto
From your response it is clear to me that you don’t comprehend the impact that excessive CO2 in the atmosphere plays in controlling our climate and temperature. I suggest you educate yourself using reputable scientific sources — and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Gregory Wrightstone isn’t one of them.
Oh Steven, those pesky geologic facts just don’t seem to get in your way of blind politically driven ideology—one Al Gore’s UI groupies. Show us the DATA that proves CO2 is a temperature/climate driver.
Furthermore I presume you are more educated than Wrightstone on this subject or a host of other notable scientists? (Wrightstone is a geologist who has been investigating the Earth’s processes for more than 35 years. He received a bachelor’s in geology from Waynesburg University and a masters degrees in geology from West Virginia University. He has written and presented extensively on many aspects of geology including how paleogeography and paleoclimate control geologic processes)
Have fun worrying about a non-issue like CO2. Perhaps you’re a fan of Paul Ehrlich and his preposterous predictions, NONE of which have come to pass?
BTW: Kauaiboy there is no such 98% agreement among scientists regarding anthropogenic driven climate. Quit reading the NYT and other propaganda.
RG DeSoto
Wrightstone’s pedigree notwithstanding, the conclusions he reaches are not supported by legitimate science. There’s an important and critical distinction between an opinion piece, like “Inconvenient Facts,” and one that has gone through the peer review process, i.e., validated by independent researchers. You, and many other casual readers, were duped by Wrightstone’s sleight-of-hand. But that is not my problem. If you want to remain a climate denialist, that’s your prerogative, but it doesn’t change the facts.
Steven:
Perhaps this guy meets with your approval?
http://iprc.soest.hawaii.edu/people/nakamura.php
The iconoclast is Dr. Mototaka Nakamura. In June he put out a small book in Japanese on “the sorry state of climate science”. It’s titled Confessions of a climate scientist: the global warming hypothesis is an unproven hypothesis, and he is very much qualified to take a stand. From 1990 to 2014 he worked on cloud dynamics and forces mixing atmospheric and ocean flows on medium to planetary scales. His bases were MIT (for a Doctor of Science in meteorology), Georgia Institute of Technology, Goddard Space Flight Centre, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Duke and Hawaii Universities and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. He’s published about 20 climate papers on fluid dynamics.
RG DeSoto
Sigh. RG, all you have to do is look at the data that’s been gathered and you should be able to reach a reasonable conclusion. Here, I’ll make it easy for you. This site will give you time-lapse illustrations of how much the planet has warmed over the last 200 years, thanks to excessive amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/29/this-is-how-much-the-earth-has-warmed-up-over-the-last-200-years-7892549/
Unproven hypothesis? No, FACT.
To RG DeSoto:
You were born and raised on Kauai. It appears that you were also educated on Kauai. It shows.
I concur with the 98% of world-renowned scientists who agree that man has greatly contributed to the climate change we are experiencing. To believe otherwise is to stick your head in the sand and wait for your butt to fry, or get blown away.
Aloha Anne, In 2015 I installed solar in my home, and cut my domestic CO2 output by 80%. I didn’t have to march, wave signs, call people names, or wait years and years for a change in government. No denier was able to stop me from picking up the phone, or blocked my permits. No denier was able to confiscate the considerable savings in my electric bill.
In contrast, how long will it be before we see a change in the fed gov’t? At least 16 mos until Trump is removed, and possibly 64. What about the Senate? We don’t have the mos, years, decades to wait.
And what plans does the gov’t have? Carbon tax? There’s no guarantee that industry and business will lower their CO2, and/or just pass on the cost. Cap and trade? Who are we going to trade with? What industry has low enough CO2 output to make a meaningful difference?
You alluded to the fact that we need all tools to address this crisis, and I agree. Gov’t can be a factor, but we cannot afford to rule out the market, individual responsibility, and very importantly, technological advances.
You are correct…AND humanity needs to continue to speak loudly, march, etc. Many things we can do to reduce our carbon footprints.